Milton



MILTON riss, or SPRINGFIELD, .massacri Usnrrs, assienon 'ro Einatmen M.wassoN, or sans einen.

Letters .Patent No. 75,257. dated-.Marrant 10, 1868.

IMPRVEMBNT IN HARNESS-TRIMMINGS.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CNCERN:

A Be it known that I, MILTON A. FIsK, of- Springfield, in the county ot"Hampden, an d State of Massachu- Betts, have made and invented certainnew and useful Improvements inthe Manufacture of HarnessTrimmings j andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact`description thereof, reference being-had to the annexed drawings,making-a part of this specification, in which- Figureris a. plan of thehead or trimming, and

Figure 4 a section ofthe same', showing the insertion of the loop.

In the manufacture of harness-trimmings, sheet -brass or other metal isusually employed, from which such trimmings are struck up by means ofdies, of any desired form oi' pattern, and the larger varietiesstrengthened by filling the-insides thereof with lead or some similarsubstance.

To the inside of these trimmings is attached, by means of solder, a stemor loop of wire, usually of brass or iron, whereby they are secured toharnesses, and the outside thereof is usually washed ori plated with athin covering of silver, or some whitemetal or amalgam,lto impart animproved appearance. But such trimmings, being made of thin, 'lightmaterial, that they'may' the more readily receive the impression of thedies, are easily jammed or indented, and are often entirely detachedfromthc stem or loop by failure oi" the solder to adhere; and'again, thewash or plate soon wears ed. when they assume a sullied, tarnishedappearance.

My' invention, which has the same general appearance as the trimmingabove described 'when new, is designed to remedy the defects thereof,that is, to vproduce a trimming not casily jammed or indented, te which'the loop is firmly attached, and whichwill preserve a clean,.whiteappearance, even after the wash or plate is wor'n oil'. p v I To enableothers sl-rilled in the art to practise my invention, 'I will describethe construction thereoiaud my method of proceeding in manufacturingthesame. I

The head or trimming a a, I make of a round or circular form, about oneinch and a halfl in diameter, as seen in g. 3, the face or outer surfacethereof being convex, while the back or inner` surface is concave, andprovided with slight sockets or projections around and 'for the supportof the loop c c, as seen in fig. 4. By this method of construction Iobtain great strength and durability without increase of heft or cost.vThe loop c c I construct of ordinary brass or iron wire ot' a sizesuilcient for strength, bending thewire a short distance from the heador trimming, nearly at'right angles, and the same again near the ends,as seen in'fig. 4L But as thehead or-ornnmenta a is of a thickness andof a metal or amalgam that could not be struck up with a die, I cast orrun the same in a mould prepared for that purpose, and instead ofsoldering the loop c c to the head or ornament aa, I east or run suchhead or ornament on to such loop, thus producing the head or ornament a'a, and attaching thereto the loop c c in a irm and secure manner at oneand the same operation.

,'The moulds which I employ are constructed of brass, ordinarily and onnearly the' same principle as a common bullet-mould, except that one ofthe jaws, which open laterally, is constructed to open through-thecentre thereof horizontally, and provided with two small openings toeach matrix to allow` the insertion of the loop co. Thematrix for thehead or ornament is formed on the faces of the jaws ot" the mould whichopen laterally, and of any design desired, andthe opening for the meltedmetal or amalgam being on the top or upper side of the moulds, thematrix is so arranged that the melted amalgam, when poured in, strikesthe outer-edge or circle of the head or ornament a aiirst. i

In the preparation of'the amalgam used for casting the head or ornamenta a, I make use of. lead, antimony, and tin in the following manner andproportions: I melt' eight (S) parts ot' tin; and raise it to a redheat; I next add twelve (llparts of antimony, and as soon as theant-imony is thoroughly dissolved, I add one hundred (100) parts oflead. When all are melted and thoroughly mixed, the amalgam is `thenready for use or casting. And it ils a peeuliarity of the amalgamprepared ,es above described, that it will run around the loop c c,penetrating and filling every crevice, figure, and interstice of thematrix, thus producinga very superior article of manufacture, und at thesame time preserving a very smooth, clean appearanceund I do not know ofany other metal or amalgam that `will answer lthe purpose of myinvention so well as that herein set forth.

The moulds being properly prepared, I insert thev loop c c in theopenings provided therefor', projecting the 'ends of the loop into thematrix suiciently to allow the melted amalgam to run round them' freely.I then pour in the metal-cir amalgam, and allow the same to coolorharden. I then remove the trimming from the mould, when it is ready-forcl'eaning,vand washing or plating with silver in the ordinary manner, ifdesired.

l Trimmings manufactured in the manner herein specified, I considersuperior in quality, durability, and appearance to those manufactured-inthe ordinary manner. Y l

I do not claim to have invented any new amalgam or composition, nor do Iclaim to have invented any article o f manufacture absolutely new inkind Vand unheard of before.

My invention relates to the improvement of an old manufacture, andconsists in the construction of a rosetteor harness-trimmingof,amn.terial and in a manner never before, to my knowledge, employed insuch manufacture, the result of which is both a better and cheaperarticle, constituting an improvement ofthe trado.

Having thus described my invention and the methodof constructing thesame, vwhatI claim as new, and for which I desire to' obtain LettersPatent, is- I As a new article of manufacture, a rosette orharness-trimming, when constructed as herein. described, and' forthepurpose speciied.v l

l J'anuary15, 1868.

Witnesses:

ELBMDGE BIEDEN, SIDNEY SANDERS.

